Calendar of Events

July 4th Celebration on Saturday, July 3 - 10:00 am SHARP
Sons of the American Revolution will have a reenactment at the Fort. It begins at 10:00 am sharp. If you can attend please be there prior to 10:00 am. or you will miss it..

This annual observance of Independence Day is in cooperation with the Knoxville Chapter of The Sons of the American Revolution, The Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Children of the Revolution. Activities include a flag ceremony, reading of the Signers of the Declaration and a short speech. The event is Free Admission, but donations are always accepted.

James White's Fort, 205 E. Hill Ave, Knoxville, TN 37915. Information: 865-525-6514, www.jameswhitefort.org

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will present the 37th Annual Free Pilot Company Independence Day Concert on Saturday, July 3, at 8 p.m. in the Tennessee Amphitheater at World’s Fair Park. Music Director Aram Demirjian will lead the KSO in this free, family-friendly concert as part of the City of Knoxville’s scaled-down holiday weekend celebration.

No tickets are required to attend. Guests are welcome to sit inside the 950-seat amphitheater and around the surrounding lawn. View event details here.

Enjoy familiar classics such as Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and patriotic tributes including the Armed Forces Salute and Valerie Coleman’s Seven O’Clock Shout. Knoxville Poet Laureate Rhea Carmon also will provide original poetry.

The KSO will partner with the City of Knoxville, Pilot Company and WBIR-TV for this concert. The concert also will be broadcast on WBIR-TV Channel 10 at 8 p.m. on Sunday, July 4. Those who use the hashtag #KSOJuly3 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will be entered to win a pair of tickets to any Moxley Carmichael Masterworks concert during the upcoming season. Also, share your photos with the KSO by tagging @knoxsymphony on social media.

For more information regarding the KSO, please visit www.knoxvillesymphony.com or call 865-291-3310

July 3 Makers Market
10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

​In the words of one of our vendors, "It's my people". Come vist, explore, and show support with the crunchy sustainable crowd.

​Enjoy the family-friendly atmosphere, take a tour of our permaculture demonstration site: gardens, rainwater catchment, solar arrays, and electric car charging are some of the things you can learn about.​

To see the vendors that are coming: https://www.sfcknox.org/makersmarket

July 3, 9-12

Join us for our monthly work party July 3rd – we’ll be tackling invasive species along the south loop! We’ll have all the tools – bring water, gloves, and be prepared with sturdy footwear. Harpers Bike Shop will provide lunch at noon and Hi-Wire Brewing will have cold beverages to quench our thirsts! Our Friends at Two Bikes will also be joining us – find out more about this non-profit bike shop here. Our partners at Ijams Nature Center will be helping us too!

www.AMBCKnox.org

Bliss & Tori Mason Shoes is excited to host local artist Kara Lockmiller for First Friday as Downtown Knoxville starts to return to normalcy amid more reopening activities since the pandemic shutdown.

Kara will be at Bliss & Tori Mason Shoes at 445 S. Gay St. in downtown Knoxville from 6 – 9 PM on Friday, July 2nd for an in person meet and greet where snacks and drinks will be served.

Kara Lockmiller is a Knoxville artist who specializes in painting in shadow hues. She is known as a chromesthete, which means she sees a vast array of real colors in her mind when she listens to music. Kara paints musical artists ranging from Dolly Parton to Billy Joel and accepts custom commissioned requests. She has displayed her work at several venues throughout Knoxville over the years and has received many creative awards.

Bliss & Tori Mason Shoes is a women's clothing and gift store located on Gay St. in downtown Knoxville and has been a downtown Knoxville mainstay since its start in 2003. Bliss prides itself on offering an alternative to the standard retail experience and often carries pieces you won't find anywhere else. Husband and Wife team Scott Schimmel and Lisa Sorensen own Bliss, along with four other Bliss stores throughout TN and KY including another women's boutique in West Town Mall, and three furniture stores (Bliss Home) located in Knoxville and Nashville, TN and Louisville, KY. For more information on Kara Lockmiller, please visit her website at www.klockmillerart.com or follower her on social media @klockmillerart

For more information on Bliss, please visit their website at www.shopinbliss.com or contact Molly Hanley at 865-219-2703 or marketing@shopinbliss.com

First Friday Reception: July 2, 5:30 – 9:00
July Theme: The Love of Travel

Kim Emert Gale, Painter
Kim Emert Gale is a seventh generation East Tennessean and a descendant of Emert's Cove near Gatlinburg, Tn. She specializes in oil, acrylic, pen and ink, and pencil drawing. Her subjects include portraiture, landscape and still life. She has painted for several years and has studied with several widely known and collected painters. Kim attended the University of Tennessee and studied art and psychology. She resides in Knoxville Tennessee where she paints the beauty of the surrounding area and the Smoky Mountains.

Harriet Howell, Hand Painted Silk
Harriet’s painting, whether on paper or silk, uses color and movement to capture the emotional content of nature. “I’ve always loved fabrics, and used to make all of my own clothes. Painting scarves allows me to play with color and natural shapes and then turn the art into something wearable. What fun!” Starting with a stretched silk scarf, Harriet uses brushes to apply successive layers of fabric dyes. Sometimes a resist is used or a hand-cut stencil. Sometimes the dye is applied wet-in-wet. Almost all images are based on elements found in nature. Finished scarves are then steam set, washed, ironed and sewn. Harriet Howell’s painting, whether on paper or silk, uses color and movement to capture the emotional content of nature. “I’ve always loved fabrics and used to make all of my own clothes. Painting scarves allows me to play with color and natural shapes and then turn the art into something wearable. What fun!” Starting with a stretched silk scarf, Harriet uses brushes to apply successive layers of fabric dyes. Sometimes a resist is used or a hand-cut stencil. Sometimes the dye is applied wet-in-wet. Almost all images are based on elements found in nature. Finished scarves are then steam set, washed, ironed, and sewn.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-6, Su 1-6. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net, www.Facebook.com/ArtMarketGallery

The practices of Celia Lesh and Esther Sibiude span disciplines of sculpture, drawing, writing, and music. Although their works are decidedly distinct from one another, they share an affective tenor and intuitive mode of making that honors slowness and emotionality. Esther’s drawings fluctuate between cosmic landscapes and microscopic biologies. Wisps and lines are trusted to wander, swirling in and out of reality. In some, narrative peeks through. In others, the non-drawn space, the paper and the air trapped in the frame, become equally important to the drawn. Celia makes sculptures, often from her bedroom studio. Her techniques range from sewing and soldering to chewing and mushing, arranging and re-arranging. She combines found objects with meticulous methods of adornment. The resulting works vibrate between lightness and weight, embodying the psychological. In situ, they operate like constellations, bound to one another by the heavy space in between.

Celia Lesh is an artist living and working between New York and California.
Esther Sibiude is an artist and harpist living and working in New York.
Colleen Billing is an artist living and working in New York.

BAD WATER, 320 E. Churchwell Ave, Knoxville, TN. Open during receptions & by appointment. Info: writetobadwater@gmail.com, https://instagram.com/bad__water, or https://badwater.gallery/

Award-winning artists, Judi Miller and Barb Pelak, are the Art Guild’s featured artists for July. They will be honored at the Fun and Wine Reception on Friday, July 2nd, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., at the Art Center located at 451 Lakeview Drive in Fairfield Glade. Wearing masks is optional. Wine will be served. This event is free & open to the public.

Judi Miller grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. She moved to New York, married, and raised 3 children. She now lives in Fairfield Glade. Judi Miller’s love for drawing, and art, began soon after she could hold a pencil. As Judi grew older, she experimented with different mediums of paint and discovered her passion for watercolor. Judi loves the transparency of watercolor and the mingling of the paints on the paper. Her favorite subjects are all types of plant life, still lifes and people, especially children. Painting brings Judi a sense of peace. She found it to be really good therapy, especially this past year, with so many unknowns. As a prerequisite for Judi’s paintings, she works hard to capture the best photographs, including precise positioning, light, and shadow. She loves taking pictures of her grandkids.

Barb Pelak was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She married and moved to Naples, Florida in 1980 where she raised her family. Barb has been enjoying summers in the Crossville area since 1975, and has made Fairfield Glade her home. Barb learned to paint in 1985 when she joined a local chapter of the Society of Tole and Decorative Artists. She has painted in oils, acrylics, watercolor, and colored pencils, and loves them all! She also has an interest in paper arts, and loves to make greeting cards, handmade books and journals. Barb has a gift for teaching, and has taught a variety of art classes since 1990. She continues to teach classes at the Art Guild’s Art Center.

Hours: Mon-Sat 9 AM - 4 PM. Art Guild at Fairfield Glade at the Plateau Creative Arts Center, 451 Lakeview Drive, Fairfield Glade, TN 38558. Information: 931-707-7249, www.artguildfairfieldglade.net

On display for month of July
PostModern Spirits, 205 W Jackson, Knoxville
Hours: 4pm-11pm mon- Fri. Sat-Sun 12pm-11pm

Leesa Osburn of Knoxville, TN
I was born and raised on the Oregon Coast. I enlisted in the Army and had the opportunity to travel to Germany. After several years serving my country, I returned to the U.S. and settled in Las Vegas, NV for 14 years. After too many hot summers in 2019, my husband and I moved to Halls, Tennessee with our two rescue dogs. The positive change in environment has reinvigorated my need to put paint to canvas. I have a Bachelors in Studio Art from University of Nevada Las Vegas and paint mostly in Water Soluble Oils. My work, mostly landscapes, have been shown now in several local exhibits and hope to expand my reach to future juried events. I enjoy “rescuing” formerly used canvases and frames. Many canvases only need a tiny amount of work and a neutral base coat in oils to prepare them for a new day of painting. Good quality frames often just need a new coat of paint and the two, canvas and frame, are ready to be joined. I often choose to paint on gallery wrapped canvases which omits the need for a frame all together. To expand my craft, I joined Tuesday Painters, a Plein Air painting group. For ease of portability I have been dabbling on Tuesdays in Watercolor. https://artisticescape.studio/

Got plans for the July 4 weekend? The City of Knoxville is hosting Celebration of the 4th with free live music at World’s Fair Park, on Friday, July 2, and Saturday, July 3.
This year’s festivities will be two nights featuring live music by local performers. Friday’s event will conclude with a brief fireworks show.

“We were disappointed to have to cancel Festival on the 4th months ago, when many COVID-19 precautions were still in place,” says Kyndra Brewer, Director of the City Office of Special Events. “But we are happy to be able to have a family-friendly, patriotic way to kick off the holiday weekend.”

Families are encouraged to bring chairs, blankets and picnic dinners; please leave alcohol and pets at home. Bottled water will be available on site, but there will not be food or beverage for purchase on site. The park’s restroom facilities will be open, and additional portable toilets will be on site. Free parking will be available in all City-owned garages as well as the nearby 11th Street Garage.

“We look forward to celebrating together at this year’s scaled-down celebration and producing a full Festival on the 4th in 2022,” says Mayor Indya Kincannon. Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the 1982 World’s Fair.

Friday, July 2
World’s Fair Park
Randy Tyree Performance Lawn
Usually, the 572nd Air National Guard Band of the South is booked to perform at a far-flung location during the July 4 holiday, but this year they’ll play for the hometown crowd. Based at McGhee-Tyson Air National Guard Base, the ANG Band of the South is one of 17 Air Force bands in the world. The night will include performances by the Concert band, jazz band Blue Groove and rock band Sound Barrier.
LaFollette-based PyroShows will present a brief fireworks display at 9:30 p.m.
The ideal location for viewing the fireworks is from the Performance Lawn near the stage. There will be no additional viewing screens for this performance.

Saturday, July 3
World’s Fair Park
Tennessee Amphitheater
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will perform a free concert in the Tennessee Amphitheater. The performance time and the program will be announced soon.
For more information, visit KnoxvilleTN.gov/events.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special® is a live performance radio show held at noon, with your host Red Hickey, Monday through Thursday at the Knoxville Visitor Center. On Fridays WDVX takes the Blue Plate Special to Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria for “The Big Plate”, then back to the Visitor Center on Saturday with your host Evie Andrus.

It’s always free to join in, so please don’t be shy. Make yourself at home as part of the WDVX family. From blues to bluegrass, country to Celtic, folk to funk, rockabilly to hillbilly, local to international, it all part of the live music experience on the WDVX Blue Plate Special. You’re welcome to bring your lunch.

Just like at your favorite meat n’ three, the WDVX Blue Plate Special® is served up piping hot. This fresh and free daily helping of live music during the lunchtime hour that features performers from all over the world and right here in Knoxville has put WDVX on the map as East Tennessee’s Own community supported radio.

Previous performing artists include Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, The Avett Brothers, Old Crowe Medicine Show, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Jim Lauderdale, Marty Stuart, Nickel Creek, Red Stick Ramblers, Rodney Crowell, String Cheese Incident, The Del McCoury Band, Tim O’Brien, Yonder Mountain String Band, David Grisman, Claire Lynch Band, Brett Dennen, Tommy Emmanuel, Uncle Earl, The Infamous Stringdusters, the Jerry Douglas Band, Joan Osborne, John Oats, Mary Gauthier, Darrell Scott, and many many more! There’s plenty of great music to go around! http://wdvx.com/program/blue-plate-special/

Free 2-hour visitor parking located next door to the Knoxville Visitor Center. One Vision Plaza, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Info: 865-544-1029, http://www.wdvx.com

https://www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com/

Summer Term at KCT’s Creative Dramatics Academy consists of 5 days of intensive sessions. Most classes will culminate in a showcase presentation for family and friends at the end of the term. The cost for the week varies by class. To reserve a spot in any class, or for more information use the online submission form at knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. You will receive registration information, via e-mail, upon inquiry. 50% of the class fee must be received upon enrollment to guarantee admission.

AGES 4 – 5
Tiny Thespians: Presents the Crayon Book of Numbers

Ages 6 – 7
Page to Stage: Under the Sea
Page to Stage: How to Catch a Dinosaur
Page to Stage: Monster Academy

Ages 8 – 10
Introduction to Acting, Ages 8 & 9
Introduction to Acting: Life in Narnia Ages 8 to 10
Introduction to Acting, Wonderful World of Dahl Ages 8 to 10

Ages 10 & 11
Intro to Acting, Ages 10 & 11
Intro to Improv, Ages 10 & 11
Introduction to Acting, Into the Wardrobe, Ages 10 & 11

Ages 12 & up
Intro to Acting, Ages 12 & Up
Intro to Acting, Ages 12 & Up, Into the Wardrobe
Intro to Improv, Ages 12 & Up 6
Musical Theatre: Move, Sing, Act! 12 & Up

Technical Classes
Costume Design for Animal Characters
Advanced Audition – Self Taping and Online Auditions
Lighting for the Stage
Beyond Tie-Dye

For many of our classes, we require no experience for enrollment. Acting classes are kept small so the instructor is able to meet the student where they are and help guide them individually through personalized feedback. We try to clearly identify classes that require experience, such as some workshops and for our advanced classes.